A Matter of Fathers
by CheeriosAreSquare
Summary: Ten years later, what ever happened to Scarlett O' Hara, but moreover, what happened to those darling children? A story about Wade and Ella!
1. Chapter 1

She had never stopped to realize it, stopped to acknowledge it. It was a painful reminder to see just how much each of her children resembled their father. Each man had been a stranger to her and yet she sighed it contempt for never baring any children for the men she truly did love. Ashley, yes the honorable Mr. Wilkes was one of them but though she would never admit it, after all these years she had returned to Tara, no she would not admit it.

She had never worn blue after he left. The color reminded her too much of the daughter she took for granted, to manipulate Rhett to her stubborn will. Her green eyes stared at herself in the mirror, eyeing each feature of her from her long, dark hair to the ever arching eyebrows. She attempted a smile and was satisfied at its charming nature. Scarlett did not want to think about that, of her children. And all of a sudden, the door opened to reveal her only daughter, Ella Lorena Kennedy, come in.

"Mama, Please let me go to that ball, oh Mama!" Ella beseeched her mother, pouting her lips and taking her mother's hand, "It's not fair all the other girls get to go! You don't even care if I end up in a convent like Auntie Careen! "

With a frown, she coldly removed her whimpering daughter's hand, for no daughter of hers would be in a convent "Great balls of fire, Ella! Have I told you not to come in my room without permission?"

Personally, she found her daughter as ugly as a monkey when she was born and still, she had to admit that Ella was not the prettiest of her children. Yet, saved by a charming grace and some delicate features, she was swarmed by an admirable amount of beaus.

"Oh Ma, will you? Will you please?" She pleaded. Scarlett rolled her eyes, those blasted children of hers! If they were not so quiet and well behaved when necessary, which was frequent, they were demanding and boisterous. Sometimes, she forgot she only had two children and Beau to look after. The former Mrs. Butler was thirty eight years old, yet still was a beautiful sight. Not that she was no longer Mrs. Rhett Butler but they were still separated. Then she came up with a brilliant idea.

"Yes, Ella, you may go, but!" She eyed her daughter with amusement, "Your brother must accompany you,"

"Oh to Hell!" Sadly, Ella was an impeccably lady in public but she had not inherited her father's patient etiquette.

"Ella Lorena Kennedy!" She frowned disapprovingly, then continued smoothly, "IF you really wanted to go, then of your course your big brother has to chaperone you," She looked away with a satisfied grin as Ella frowned at her mother. Sometimes, she wished she could pull that frown off her face, it really made her look pudgy. Besides, Scarlett had been scheming, if both her children are gone, then she was free to saunter off by herself! It was delightful to think of.

"Mother, "Ella gulped, "you would really let me? If I asked Wade?"

"Well I gave you my word, didn't I?" Scarlett turned to look at her daughter. With a newfound hope, Ella nodded, and questioned.

"Where is he?"

"In his room, as always," Scarlett shrugged with a smirk, twirling her hair. Ella nodded to find his brother's room, prepared for his laconic answers. There was a reason he was studying law at Harvard, he was especially good at reason and it was no issue for his tuition was paid for since he was little. Smiling kindly at the servants around her house, she walked around Tara. After Uncle Rhett left, her mother had left the house and came to live at Tara, her mother's childhood house and vaguely, Ella could tell why her mother liked Tara so much despite it being boring and away from all the balls and parties in the city. After some sort of barter, Ella found her old house in Atlanta bartered with her Aunt Suellen and Will, who grasped the change with glee, as they handed the farm over to Scarlett again. Vaguely she remembered, her mother smiling, not the smile she smiled when Uncle Rhett told a funny anecdote but the one she used on the men she wanted to sell lumber to. Nevertheless, she had her dresses, she had a life at Tara and Ella Lorena Kennedy lived comfortably at Tara as she would have at the house in Atlanta.

She hesitantly knocked on the wooden door, lowering her head, as her brother's voice stop abruptly and she could hear footsteps coming toward the door.

Twenty one year old Wade Hampton Hamilton was a striking sight, despite such ordinary features as with his warm brown eyes and mousy brown, tousled hair, but he was slender and as a child, often sickly. But no one complained, when he came into a room with his expensive overcoat and bundled in scarves.

"My darling little sister, how are you?" He sardonically bowed.

"Oh, Wade!" Ella unnaturally giggled as her red curls bounced up and down, her big eyes darting from him, "How you flatter me!"

But he saw straight through her scheming.

"Ella Lorena, what do you want this time? Another dress, a trip to the hair salon?" Wade smirked a smirk she had seen several times in their mother.

"No, Wade, that's not it…Mama asked a favor of you," Should she mention that as a threat to get him to take her to the party? Or should she she just sweetly question him.

"Of course, what does dear Mother want me to do?" Wade ushered her into the room, as Ella followed skeptically, "You really want to go the party, don't you? Well, something I learned all these years ago, I never do something without expecting something in return," He did not need to mention Uncle Rhett's name, he tried not to all these years unlike Ella who would burst out his name just to convince her mother to allow her to do something but Ella decided her silent temper was not worth the hassle. Nonetheless, Wade still kept in contact with Rhett with mail and every time it came from exotic places around the world from California to Morocco to Mexico.

"Wade, you really are a bothersome fool! How did you ever get into Harvard?" Ella pouted, trying to avert her eyes to look pitiful.

"Ella, I never disagreed, I simply asked for something in return" He smiled at her as if he were her father, rather than just four years older than her eighteen years , "After all, you don't have your big brother as your chaperone all those days of the month I was away at Harvard?"

"You know there's nothing I could offer you!" She started to tear up, "Oh Wade Hampton, you're horrible, I hate you!" She started forward, lifting her dress, her bustles shaking as she started down the stairs.

"Ella! How unladylike!" Wade shouted down the stairs, until she started crying and yelling incoherent declarations of hate. But he casually followed him down.

"Mama, oh mama, Wade's just horrible!" She had managed to start bawling, holding on the banisters and shaking, "He won't let me go to Beau's going away party!"

At Beau's name, Scarlett's head whipped around, a shocked expression on her face that was so cool a second ago.

"Whose party did you say, Ella?" Her eyes were distracted by Wade walking in the room, hands in his pockets.

"Beau Wilkes! Our Beau!" Ella cried, stomping her feet, "Why did I even buy this dress if no one but Mammy and you and Wade will see me in it!"

"A party at Ashley's?" Scarlett questioned her voice calm with hidden excitement.

"Yes, he's going to attend Washington and Lee University when the summer is over!" She complained, plopped down next to her mother on the floor and refusing to answer to Wade's crude remarks.

"A party at Ashley's!" Scarlett repeated, her green eyes bright with a newfound excitement. It had been so long, she missed talks with Ashley.

"Wade, get dressed, and Ella, do fix your face, it's dreadful when you cry, oh Ella dear, your face is all red," She hurriedly ran into her closet. "Mammy, come do my stays!" And her head peeped out of her closet, "Ella, you are going to the party, we all are," She smiled, just dodging Ella's frown.

**A/N: Don't worry, you'll see more sides to all of them, but here's the beginning! LOVE Gone with the wind, despite not even done with the book!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Scarlett! How wonderful you look!" Ashley Wilkes made his way through the crowd to greet his old friend with a weary smile. Ten years without Melanie had made Ashley prematurely old but Scarlett had to agree he still looked handsome, the added age making him look better despite those drowsy grey eyes. Ella smiled content and wanting to get away, eyeing the room with eager eyes. Parties in the south were still as homely as they were when Scarlett was Ella's age. Only the fashion and the people have changed. With a curtsy to Uncle Ashley, she headed off to congratulate Beau and talk to old friends. Wade stood next to his mother, a few inches taller than her, with his hands in his pockets as he nodded to Uncle Ashley. He had always thought they would be more than friends after all these years but no, Ashley Wilkes was more than just honorable to his dead wife's name but his mother had no interest other than a recount of her former lumber mill business and small talk, often sentimental toward the good old days. From what Wade could perceive, it was hard to believe his mother, so often accompanied with a frown on his annoyed face, was once young and beautiful, charming and apparently had the smallest waist in the county.

"Oh, Ashley, why did you not tell me that Beau would be going away?" Scarlett reached out to swat Ashley playfully.

"I'm sorry, dear Scarlett, I assumed you were busy," He, embarrassed, undisclosed the subject that it was around the date of Bonnie's death.

"Nonsense!" She understood why, "Busy not to see Beau before he is off to school?"

Ashley began to say something but then stopped, turning to Wade.

"Well, Wade, back from school?" He turned to nod blankly at Ashley, patting him on the shoulder and giving it a small squeeze that for a second irritated him. Uncle Ashley gave out a small chuckle, his eyes drawing out his lanky figure that was even taller than his own, and shaking his head, he added, "Looks just like his father, Scarlett,"

For a second, he thought his mother was going to scoff by the ways her eyebrows rose, obviously amused by the remark.

"Thank you, Uncle Ashley" Wade politely smiled, then the three fell into a silent spell before Scarlett began.

"Wade, why don't you go off and find Beau?" She obviously was not a fan of talks with her son, found herself with nothing to relate to her son. After all, Wade had the sarcastic comments of Rhett and the eye of articulation he had inherited from his French grandmother that made him prouder than Scarlett ever could have been. But that was an inner pride he kept hidden, that one could only spot by the way he arranged his hair or loftily walked about town, not stopping to greet anyone. No, Wade Hampton Hamilton was not just any immature twenty one year old but his father's son, or so the one that he perceived through what little he could get out of his mother and sometimes Aunt Pitty whenever he was sent over. Why, if another war had broken out, he would go and enlist while proudly waving his father's sword! Frankly, he was too proud to let people know he was anything but confident in his standings.

Beau Wilkes waved at his cousin, a jubilant expression on his kind and handsome face. Clearly excited to his cousin and best friend, he rushed up and took both of Wade's hands and the nineteen year old softly went through his greetings with such calmness, it annoyed Wade.

"I hear you are going to college come the beginning of the semester," Wade stated as Beau nodded his head with no stop, his blond hair falling into those dark eyes as he smiled a kind smile he could vaguely remember was his Aunt Melanie's. Beau Wilkes was clearly his parent's son, well-mannered and polite, respectful of all, especially with the O'Haras.

"Certainly not as good as Harvard but yes," Beau smiled admirably, "Well, Wade, it certainly has been so long!"

"Yes, quite long indeed," Wade found himself at ease; he always did after talking to Beau, for he made him feel homely and welcome. His words were always so reminiscent that people could be so kind.

"I remember it as if it were just yesterday we were playing in that nursery down in Atlanta at your place, and now…" He looked off in the distance, twiddling his thumbs, before turning to Wade again, "Father wanted me to go to a school with a strong southern tradition, and frankly I cannot wait to begin my studies of literature and of art!"

"It certainly is very interesting," Wade nodded but only half-heartedly, sometimes he wished they would stop praising the South of so long ago!

"Yes, yes, well! Are you enjoying yourself back home in Georgia?" Beau asked. He understood his cousin so well, knew he was unhappy but knew he had the wonderful potential of also being well received in Atlanta. Without doubt, he was as close to Scarlett O' Hara's oldest son as if he were a dear brother and knew exactly how to make him smile.

"Certainly, everyone has been most kind," Wade briskly answered.

"Goodness! Will I miss home!" Beau murmured, shockingly looking around the full house, suddenly realizing his childhood friends were the very same teenagers around his house "This home where we all, as boys, have played in."

Wade nodded, reaching to get a drink from the table and took a large gulp, the alcohol burning his throat. Suddenly, Beau was laughing softly.

"What is it?" He furrowed his brow as his soft-spoken cousin ran his fingers through those blond curls.

"I was just remembering that time when I thought we would get married!" Beau earnestly chuckled but kept his voice low.

"What?" Wade sharply asked, his eyes piercing angrily at his cousin. What kind of a sick joke was this?

"No, when we were both young and it was lunchtime at Aunt Pittypat, remember?" Wade shook his head, "Well, she was going on about the Wilkes and Hamiltons and how we were proud races and all, and then she mentioned how they always married each other to preserve our bloodline, and being the stupid baboon I was, remember I then confronted you alone in the bedroom as dear old Aunt Pitty put us to naptime that we have to get married? Oh! That we were both Wilkes and Hamiltons!" Then he started laughing loudly as Wade smirked with an amused expression.

"Oh, yes! You kept insisting we had to because you were a Wilkes and I was a Hamilton. Then I told you no way in Hell would I marry you and you cried. Of course we did not want Uncle Henry to come in and warn us to be quiet!"

"How preposterously silly!" Beau laughed.

"Yes, it was! Say, Beau, this is a stupid party, would you want to go into town with me? Go have a few beers?" But Beau looked him with a bashful expression.

"Father gave me this going away party and besides, drinking is not my idea of fun," He shook his head as Wade sighed, placing his hands in his pockets again.

"Everything has changed though" Wade pointed out as they strolled along the dancing couples, his own sister smiling and waving to the two of them. Beau had stopped to wave back and for a moment, Wade could see there was something more in Beau's face when Ella waved to him. Why, there was suddenly a puppy-dog state attached to his droopy eyes as Ella energetically waved at them with a smile bigger than she had the whole day. As Ella got distracted by yet another gentleman and began the next dance, Beau and Wade continued walking down the room with light conversation and more people stopped the two to congratulate Beau Wilkes on his successful academic achievement.

"No, nothing has changed at all," Beau shook his head, "It's still the south to me! Food and women!" He had added that as a second thought, a joking tone to his friend, but his eyes kept dancing to the dance floor as if looking for a partner to dance with, looking for someone in the crowd.

"You want to dance, don't you?" Wade asked, ready to back away. He was prepared to walk down a few more blocks and get intoxicated; his mother would not care as so he came back on time.

"Um," He began nervously, snapping his eyes quickly away from the crowd of joyous dancers, then jokingly added, "I'll save you for our wedding day!"

Laughing along, Wade Hampton suddenly did not know why he was laughing. The joke was not funny and he wanted a drink.

**AN What do you think, eh? Don't worry, they are straight! Hoped you enjoyed it, good day, and thanks for reading!**


End file.
